Grill work



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GRILLWORK Filed Dec. 26, 1961 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 1375 V6IQTOM' Wmm Q6 @dennedg 67 w.1f,W J+%m United States Patent 3,151,714 GRILLWORK Walter W. Kennedy, Rocfiord, Ill., assignor to Barber- Colman Company, Rockford, 11]., a corporation of Illinois Filed Dec. 26, 1961, Ser. No. 161,989 3 Claims. (Cl. 189-63) This invention relates to a grille structure such as that commonly used to provide a decorative covering over a wall opening while permitting the free flow of air therethrough, and the general object is to provide a grille which, as compared to prior conventional constructions, is cheaper to manufacture, presents a more artistic appearance, and is easier to clean and to decorate as by painting.

More particularly, the invention relates to a grille of the type in which parallel fins are disposed in notches spaced along laterally spaced crossbars coupled to the fins by pressing the latter edgewise into the crossbar notches.

A more detailed object is to secure the fins to the crossbars by gripping the inner edges of the fins between the opposed walls of the crossbar notches at the inner ends thereof.

Another object is to utilize the outer edge portions of the fins in a novel manner to conceal the crossbars.

The invention also resides in the novel manner of gripping the inner fin edges.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a grille embodying the novel features of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along the line 22 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary rear view of the grille.

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary perspective view of the grille core.

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary sectional view of the grille core in the course of assembly.

FIGS. 6 and 7 are views similar to FIG. 2 illustrating modified forms of the invention.

While the invention is applicable to various other types of slatted structures, it is especially adapted for use and is shown in the drawings for purposes of illustration incorporated in a grille such as those commonly used to cover a wall opening of an air conditioning system. In such grilles, a series of generally flat fins 10 are supported and joined together in spaced parallel relation by laterally spaced bars 11 extending across the fins and interlocked with the latter to form a rigid grille core enclosed in a frame 12. Herein, the latter is composed of side and end members of channel cross-section mitered together at the corners of the frame.

The fins 10 are disposed in notches 13 spaced along the crossbars 11 and opening toward the front face of the grille. Preferably, the notches are generally V-shaped and defined by vertically spaced generally parallel walls 14 joined at their inner and outer edges by adjacent diagonally extending walls 15 which underlie and support the fins 10.

In accordance with the present invention, the fins 10 are formed as simple and imperforate sheet metal stampings with outer edge portions 16 gradually curved for a purpose to appear later and with their inner edge portions 17 shaped or otherwise adapted to be gripped and securely held by devices 30 which are formed out of the metal of the straps adjacent the inner bends 21 and may take different forms illustrated in FIGS. 2, 5 and 6.

While the crossbars having notches of the desired shape as above described may be punched from fiat bars or bent from wire, it is preferred to form the bars as straps of relatively thin sheet metal bent back and forth zigzag fashion to divide the strap into relatively short parallel lengths 18 defining the notch walls 14 and alternating with longer lengths or flights 19 extending diagonally between bends 20 and 21 and joining the long and short lengths at the front and rear faces of the grille. The bends 20 are of gradual curvature to fit into the edge portion 16 of the fins while the bends 21 may be of various crosssectional shapes depending on the character of the devices 30 for gripping the inner edges 17 of the fins. By employing straps of thin sheet metal, the bends 21 may be sharp and easily adapted to pinch or grip the fin edges in the desired manner.

In the form shown in FIG. 6, the inner edge portion 17 of the fins is left flat but bent at a small angle relative to the remainder of the fin and thus adapted to be pressed tightly in between the opposed parallel walls 23 of the crossbar notches adjacent the bends 21. In FIG. 7, the notch walls are formed with bends 24 and 25 spaced along the notches to achieve somewhat of a snap action when an enlargement 26, formed by bending the edge portion of the fin reversely against the fin, is shifted inwardly along notch wall 15 past the bend 24 and beneath the bend 25. Beyond the latter, the enlargement becomes seated in the closed end of the bend 21 as the curl 16 at the outer edge of the fin comes into abutment with the bend 20 of the crossbar. In the preferred construction shown in FIGS. 2, 4 and 5, a more pronounced and effective snap fit may be achieved by bending a narrow angular flange 27 along the inner edge of the fin to thicken the edge and in effect form an enlargement which may be forced through a narrow throat 28 formed between opposed portions of the notch walls 14 and 15 defining the apices of the crossbar notches and spaced from the bend 21 which is generally U-shaped to form a recess 29 for receiving the enlargement 27.

It will thus be seen that the opposed portions of the walls 14, 15 adjacent the bends 21 and at the apices of the crossbar notches 13 coact with each other to form the gripping devices 30 which receive and securely clamp the edges 17 and 27 of the fins as the latter are forced edgewise and inwardly along the diagonal supporting walls 15. Assembly of the fins and crossbars into a rigid grille core of any desired size may thus be accomplished simply and at low cost and with the crossbars spaced any desired distance apart.

The crossbars are first mounted in a suitable fixture after which the fins are placed in the notches 13 with the inner edge portions 17 disposed in the apices of the notches as shown in FIG. 5. Then, simply by pressing the fins edgewise and inwardly toward the bottom of the notches, the inner edges are forced into gripping devices and become interlocked with a press or snap fit, the inner edges stopping just short of the bends 21 as the curled outer edge portions 16 of the fins come into abutment with the bends 20 of the crossbars. The forward edges of the fins are thus located in a common plane and the inner edges are gripped and securely coupled to the crossbars. With the fins thus held against edgewise displacement and supported on the bar walls 15 across their full widths, the rigid core assembly may be formed in large sizes and later cut up according to the sizes of the grilles to be produced.

At the same time, there are no raw metal edges exposed at the front of the grille which although providing passages of large area for the flow of air through the grille, presents a more or less solid frontal appearance as shown in FIG. 1. The smooth fin surfaces with the rounded forward edges may be decorated effectually as by painting and are easily cleaned in service use.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a grillwork, the combination of, a pair of laterally spaced straps each having short equal lengths and longer equal lengths alternating with each other along the strap and bent back and forth zigzag fashion along parallel lines' and joined by sharp first bends disposed in a common plane along one face of the strap and more gradual second bends disposed in a common parallel plane at the opposite face of the strap, said short lengths paralleling each other and being disposed substantially perpendicular to said planes and said longer lengths extending diagonally between the first and second bends, and a plurality of fins spanning said straps and lying against and supported by said longer lengths with one edge portion of each fin disposed in one of said first bends, each first bend including a wall extending around the adjacent edge of the fin and into clamping engagement with opposite sides of said one edge portion thereby gripping and holding the edge of the fin in said first bend.

2. In a grillwork, the combination of, a pair of laterally spaced resiliently flexible straps each bent back and forth zigzag fashion along parallel lines to define outwardly opening V-shaped notches spaced along the straps and provide bends disposed in a common plane along the rear face of the grille, a plurality of fins spanning said straps and lying against and supported by corresponding side walls of said notches with one edge of each fin disposed in one of said bends, the Walls of each notch being contracted to a narrow throat spaced from the apex of the notch and less closely spaced adjacent the apex with the inner edge portion of each fin extending through and clamped in said throat, and an enlargement thicker than said throat at the inner edge of each of said fins disposed within said bend beyond said throat.

3. The combination defined in claim 2 in which said enlargements are formed by bending said inner edge portions out of the planes of said fins to form angular flanges.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,464,340 Ringler Aug. 7, 1923 2,814,079 Van Fleet et a1. Nov. 26, 1957 

1. IN A GRILLWORK, THE COMBINATION OF, A PAIR OF LATERALLY SPACED STRAPS EACH HAVING SHORT EQUAL LENGTHS AND LONGER EQUAL LENGTHS ALTERNATING WITH EACH OTHER ALONG THE STRAP AND BENT BACK AND FORTH ZIGZAG FASHION ALONG PARALLEL LINES AND JOINED BY SHARP FIRST BENDS DISPOSED IN A COMMON PLANE ALONG ONE FACE OF THE STRAP AND MORE GRADUAL SECOND BENDS DISPOSED IN A COMMON PARALLEL PLANE AT THE OPPOSITE FACE OF THE STRAP, SAID SHORT LENGTHS PARALLELING EACH OTHER AND BEING DISPOSED SUBSTANTIALLY PERPENDICULAR TO SAID PLANES AND SAID LONGER LENGTHS EXTENDING DIAGONALLY BETWEEN THE FIRST AND SECOND BENDS, AND A PLURALITY OF FINS SPANNING SAID STRAPS AND LYING AGAINST AND SUPPORTED BY SAID LONGER LENGTHS WITH ONE EDGE PORTION OF EACH FIN DISPOSED IN ONE OF SAID FIRST BENDS, EACH FIRST BEND INCLUDING A WALL EXTENDING AROUND THE ADJACENT EDGE OF THE FIN AND INTO CLAMPING ENGAGEMENT WITH OPPOSITE SIDES OF SAID ONE EDGE PORTION THEREBY GRIPPING AND HOLDING THE EDGE OF THE FIN IN SAID FIRST BEND. 